⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Theory & Application

Investors seek to profit from Russia as Trump pursues rapprochement – Financial Times (2025)

This Financial Times article shows a very bleak reality of contemporary capitalism and imperialism. However, this is nothing new that is exclusive to the current day. The way finance capital flows premptively along the flow of the forces of war or peace is just good business.

Investors in American weapons made it big when the war broke out, and investors in Ukrainian development, lending, defense, energy, agriculture, and rare earth mineral exploitation will make it big if a peace deal is brokered between Ukraine and Russia.

There is an adage I read that I’ve struggled to find the source of…

The difference between feudalism and capitalism is that under feudalism, a king directs the flow of resources. Under capitalism, capital itself dictates resource distribution.

I’m paraphrasing, but you get it, right? It’s not about individual leaders and their judgement anymore. If a boardmember decides not to pollute a river for profit, he must be replaced for not doing his duty to the shareholders. And any company that does not act with swift and violent profit-seeking will be beaten out by its competition that chooses the more depraved path.

This article pairs nicely with Lenin’s Imperialism, the Highest State of Capitalism.

Cuba: An American History – Ada Ferrer

This definitive history of Cuba from pre-Colombus to Donald Trump is an incredible resource. Cuban history is an incredible theater for a range of historical dramas, and it’s a prime example for learning about everything from colonialism and slavery to the cold war and communism.

Consider buying it with my Amazon link for the same price, and I’ll get a commission! Thank you.

Democracy in China (2022)

My latest TikTok video on China’s economy got an outpouring of critical comments about “worker ownership” in China. People are very concerned that state owned enterprises are not a form of socialism but rather something called “state capitalism.”

But I think we can all agree that if the state is actually representative of the workers, then state ownership is worker ownership.

Here is a video describing the recent history of China’s emerging “consultative democracy,” showing ways the central leadership is embracing the power of democracy.

Please keep an open mind as I tell you now that China has the best “Democracy Perception Index” of all countries surveyed. This index is found by polling citizens of how democratic they feel their society is and subtracting that from how important they feel democracy is to their future.

Their 2022 report can be downloaded here.

F. William Engdahl on “The Lost Hegemon” (2016)

I recently came across F. William Engdahl while watching a CGTN (Chinese state news) program he was a guest on. His analysis was refreshingly factual, so I went to his website that has really great pieces he’s written despite its old-school, not compatible with mobile design layout.

Here’s a now 6-year-old interview promoting his book “The Lost Hegemon.” I have yet to read any of his books, but in this interview alone, I felt parts of the un-compelling Western narrative being peeled off from my lens. Simply moralizing the enemies of the US as bad, hateful, and terroristic because of blindly destructive motives never satisfied me. In this interview, we can start to investigate the origins of conflicts of power and see them as ongoing, not sporadic outburst events floating in history.

I am only beginning to form my own historical analysis of the middle east, understanding how powers like Nazi Germany, The US, and Saudi Arabia propping up the far-right anti-communist groups. And Engdahl has been helping me to navigate the region’s confusing, conflicting history.

Last, I want to point out the spot-on analysis of the conflict in Ukraine here. Coming from 2016, to criticize Obama for having no plan for Russia other than to demonize its president is prescient to say the least. When Henry f—-ing Kissinger says you’re being reckless, you know it’s bad.